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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Has anyone on here actually given birth in the car on the way to hospital?

61 replies

KathyMCMLXXII · 15/12/2006 11:39

After my near miss on 3rd Dec (see my birth announcements thread - we arrived at 8.15, baby popped out at 8.20) I have been driving myself mad wondering what would have happened if we hadn't made it to hospital on time

Does the baby just pop out into the footwell or do you get out of the car and have it by the side of the road? How do you get your knickers off?

Anyone here experienced this or know someone who has?!

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chubbleigh · 18/12/2006 23:03

My mums boyfriend delivered the baby of someone he had never met before in the middle of Dartmoor. The husband flagged him down, they were on the way to hospital and had broken down, they said take her on to the hospital and he would catch up but they had not gone much further when she ordered him to pull over, he put her in the back of his van on top of some carrier bags as they were the cleanest things around. He was used to things giving birth as he was a farmer, he said he wasn't embarrassed until he had to take her knickers down. Baby boy for all healthy, someone else stopped and went to call an ambulance which took her away but left him with a 'puddle' in the back of his van to clean up. He went in to see her in the hospital and they gave the baby his name for a middle name. I just can't imagine giving birth in the back of a van with a complete stranger in the middle of Dartmoor, how crazy is that?

MrsSpoon · 18/12/2006 23:20

Car birth here .

Original poster

KathyMCMLXXII · 19/12/2006 12:30

@ 'He was used to things giving birth as he was a farmer'

OP posts:

Original poster

KathyMCMLXXII · 19/12/2006 12:33

Ooh, more stories - thanks Mrs Spoon.
I do like 'her husband who was driving heard a thud, which was the baby falling onto the floor!'

OP posts:

purpleprincess · 19/12/2006 20:47

DD (baby no 2) would have been born in the car as I was getting ready to go to hospital but luckily realised that there was no way I was going to be able to sit down and put my seatbelt on as was trying not to push. We had called my next door neighbour in and DH was with DS who had just been sick in bed. I realised that DD was coming (we had already called an ambulance) so leapt up on the bed and told neighbour to get out some towels from under the bed. Felt head come out and neighbour (a retired nurse but had never seen a baby being born!) said 'shall I pull?'!!!! I said nnnnnoooooooooooo!!! DD came out with next contractions and DH caught her just in time (she also had cord round neck). Ambulance didnt arrive for about another 10 mins by which time DD feeding hungrily while still attached. Funny thing is that my sister did exactly the same thing with her second a few months later. So does run in families it seems!!

hks · 21/12/2006 15:34

Not in the car ..didn't make it that far ...after 15minutes of mild pain ...my 2nd daughter was also born unexpectedly at home had just phoned ambulance and popped to the loo only to find the babies head was out and next contaction baby was out ...my partner had just arrived home or i would have been on my own with a two year old daughter ..ambulance turned up 30mins later and midwife 40minutes after birth due to roadworks ...

bramblina · 21/12/2006 22:25

We live on the north west coast of Scotland and our hospital is an hour and a half's drive away, (apparently the ambulance can make it in 55 mins). My next door neighbour had her dd1 at home, dd2 in ambulance on way but made it for her ds. 3 people who I was at school with were born on the way, all in the ambulance though.

gonechristmascrackers · 21/12/2006 23:01

Would love to know how an ambulance can do a journey in 55 mins that takes you 90 mins !!!! Must be better ambulances up there than mine .
Just remember that you have to add on the time it takes the ambulance to get to YOU as well as to the hospital (on new yrs eve could be quite a while )...... Its a regular occurrence for us ambulance crews to either get to a house where baby has just been born, or to deliver en route. I would definitely recommend you to aim to deliver either at home or hospital.... ambulances are cold at the best of times !
With regards the lady who "chose to walk when head had popped out", it would be preferable to sitting on baby's exposed head and neck !

MulledWino · 21/12/2006 23:04

My ex MIL gave birth to ex H in the outside loo up the garden. He fell into the toilet pan. Midwife was in kitchen doing her knitting having encouraged MIL to go for a poo.

Shame nobody flushed quickly.

twoplustwo · 22/12/2006 03:45

My aunt was born in a taxi on the way to hospital.
A male friend 'caught' his second child himself at home because everything happened so fast...all the more remarkable bearing in mind that my friend only has one arm.

carolt · 24/12/2006 14:10

DS was born this June on the landing in the middle of the night - realised by the time had woken DH up and he'd got dressed and ready to drive to hospital (min 20 minutes away, though can be up to 2 hours in heavy traffic!) that I wasn't going to make it - DH delivered but it was our third so he had some idea what to do. Ambulance arrived at the end - they had got lost but luckily MIL was there to look after DD1 and DD2 and spotted them and brought them round! - and finished off the job - though their sterile pack containing cord clip was missing it so I had to stay attached for about 45 mins till another ambulance arrived with a correct pack! Midwife finally arrived after that - she was pants! - the worst midwife I've ever come across (well it was 4am and she'd had to drive over, but still....) - that I was extremely glad she wasn't there at the birth! Ambulance staff were fantastic though.

I wouldn't want to do it again - at the time we were v calm because what else can you do? but admitted afterwards scared inside - luckily it was a straightforward birth.

Don't underestimate how stressful very speedy unplanned deliveries can be - I was a bit in shock afterwards, particularly when I realised how lucky I was he came in the middle of the night - it takes my husband an hour and a half to get back from work and that was total lenth of my labour! - could easily have been on my own or with 2 small DDs, as labour so painless that didn't realise till about to give birth till more or less started pushing (and then bl**dy painful). Also first 2 labours had been 28 hours and 6 hours respectively, so a quick labour was something of a surprise!

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